FOOD TRUCKS WILL NOW HAVE TO MAKE THE GRADE

Supervisors vote to require mobile operations to display how they fared in inspections

Mobile food facilities in San Diego County that will have to display an inspection letter grade.

$42 - $62

Expected increase in cost of a food-truck permit; current cost of a hot-food truck permit is $447

Indulging in squash tacos, dumplings with pork goulash or spicy orange peel chicken from the county’s food trucks may soon come with more peace of mind for the discriminating foodie.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to begin issuing letter grades to food trucks revealing how they fared in safety and cleanliness inspections.

Supervisor Ron Roberts, the board chairman, recommended the change after U-T San Diego and 10News began an inquiry into why food trucks weren’t treated more like their brick-and-mortar counterparts.

The increased transparency comes as the roadside dining carts — once disparaged as “roach coaches” providing cafeteria-style fare — have morphed into purveyors of regional and fusion gastronomy with names like Asian Persuasion, Pierogi Truck, New York on Rye and God Save the Cuisine.

“With the growing culture of gourmet food trucks on the rise, now is the time to beef up the reporting by translating inspection results into a grading system that consumers can easily access and understand,” Roberts said.

“Everyone deserves to know that the food they order is stored, prepared and presented in a manner that assures public health no matter if the restaurant has wheels or not.”

County health officials stressed they already conduct regular inspections of the trucks to ensure foods are stored at the proper temperatures, surfaces are suitably sanitized and there are adequate hand-washing facilities.

Posting “A,” “B” and “C” grades on trucks — beginning sometime in December — could help customers better distinguish permitted from nonpermitted mobile vendors and provide incentives for businesses to have in place good food-safety practices.

Operators earning less than an “A” may face administrative penalties or the modification, suspension or revocation of their health permit if they fail to improve their scores.

In February, the U-T Watchdog reported that half of the trucks and carts operating in the past two years were written up for one or more violations, according to a review of an inspection spreadsheet compiled by the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health.

Food-truck infractions included refrigerated foods that were not kept cold enough, improper hand-washing facilities, inadequate food handler training and potentially contaminated food surfaces, according to the report. In some instances, health inspectors found vermin.

The county worked with local businesses and trade associations to craft the new guidelines.

The restaurant letter-grading program is being extended to about 550 mobile food facilities — 250 hot-food trucks and 300 carts that serve items like coffee and hot dogs. The new grades, like those for restaurants, will be posted online at EatSafeSanDiego.org.

Food-truck operators also will be required to update their whereabouts and a mobile telephone number where they could be reached.

Deborah Scott, executive chef and partner at Island Prime on Harbor Island, told supervisors that the Cohn Restaurant Group spent about $150,000 apiece for its two food trucks, Ms. Patty Melt and Chop Soo-ey. She said the new system would give credibility to the burgeoning industry.

“They are actually a restaurant on wheels. They have everything, equipment-wise,” she said.

“And I think it’s very important that they are held to the same standards that the brick-and-mortar restaurants are held to so that they have the same credibility and so that the guests have the same assurance that they are going to be served a safe meal.”

County supervisors directed officials to return in two months with proposed fee adjustments to put the new system in place. Minor violations such as failure to report or update routes and cellphone numbers could bring a first-time citation of $100 after an initial warning. More serious violations such as removing or hiding a grade card could result in administrative penalties of $1,000.

The county projects a $40 to $62 increase for a mobile food truck permit, Environmental Health Director Jack Miller said. No opposition was voiced at the meeting Wednesday. The current cost of a hot-food truck permit is $447.

Miller’s department is preparing to work with cities to adopt a uniform letter-grading system across the county. That would need to happen before the end of the year when mobile-food facilities begin a process where they are inspected and receive their health permits and grades.

San Diego County, which began grading restaurants in the 1950s, has been held up as a model for other jurisdictions seeking similar safeguards. The health department currently regulates more than 12,000 restaurants serving 3.1 million residents and 15 million overnight guests each year.